Australia – a.k.a. down under
Scentsmith - Ainslie Walker
One of Australia's best perfumers, product developers and award winning perfume journalists, Ainslie Walker, offers perfume workshops in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
During a fun and practical workshop you’ll be able to create your own bottle of perfume from scratch. The workshops include an overview of the history of perfumery, the fragrance industry and experience of individual raw perfume materials including botanicals, natural isolates and molecules. After smelling all sorts of different fragrances and learning about what goes with what and why, you will learn how to write a perfumer's brief and you will create your own bottle of perfume to take home. An excellent fun experience!
Fleurage – Melbourne
For the custom made perfume service, the Master Perfumer will begin by exploring your tastes, emotions, likes and dislikes. The goal is to uncover your individuality and shape each ingredient into your perfume.
The process for formulating and developing your scent will take from 3 months to a year depending on the complexity of your olfactory profile. Once the procedure is finalised you will receive a beautifully crafted perfume that is completely unique to you in a Fleurage flacon with 100ml refill, a document detailing your perfume, your olfactory profile and the creator.
Fleurage also offers workshops where you will create your own formula from your selected ingredients with the guidance of the perfumer. The experience begins with the Fleurage perfumer’s personal scent analysis of each participant which reveals the scent family and type of perfume that is most suited to their tastes. All the ingredients have been specially selected to work harmoniously together, organised into the four major scent families, floral, oriental, chypre and fougere and each family into base, middle and top notes.
The completed perfume will be bottled in a 40ml bottle and will be ready for you to name as you wish. You will also receive a copy of the formula to take with you and a copy will remain in their files so you can order a refill at any time.
ONE SEED - workshops in numerous locations
One Seed is an original organic perfumery created in a way that honours the process of perfumery, the beauty of nature and our connectedness to nature and each other.
They have been creating beautiful vegan and cruelty free natural fragrances since 2009, using wholly natural ingredients with at least 80% organic content.
One Seed perfumer, Liz Cook, holds also perfume making workshops in several capital cities. The 2.5 hour class will teach you the basics of natural perfumery and blending. The workshop includes a take-home kit of 9 x 10ml plant essences (pre-tinctured for ease of use), and you will go home with an 8ml perfume of your own design, as well as enough materials to create several more bottles of your own fragrance at home.
The topics covered include: natural vs synthetic scent, perfume classification, how to smell, dry down, studies, creation methods and more.
DIY Perfume by Jocelyn Fullerton
Jocelyn is an independent perfumer and the creator of Cult of Scent; an artisan fragrance brand based in Sydney (since 2009).
Her short workshops on perfume and olfaction are both fun and technically informative and with the help of her travelling kit of perfumes and ingredients Jocelyn will take you on a fragrant journey. You will learn about perfumes are made, the stories behind them, and how precious ingredients sourced from all over the globe are used to create olfactory works of art.
Once you have gathered a palette of smells to work with, you will learn about how you can blend ingredients to create a perfume. You will have a unique opportunity to experience a wide range of fragrance ingredients that have been curated especially for your use for this workshop. Using this treasure trove of scents, Jocelyn will assist you in bring your fragrant inspiration to life.
Also if you live in the greater Sydney region you are able to create a bespoke scent in the comfort of your own home. Jocelyn will come to your space with her travelling perfumer’s organ, and spend 3 hours making a special perfume with you and your friends. The host of the workshop will additionally receive a personalised gift from Cult of Scent and your formula will be kept on file, so that you can order a refill of your unique scent anytime.
Stay tuned for Part 4 where we’ll explore the perfume playground that London is!